Welcome to Our Blog! Our Story Starts Below...

Welcome to our blog! We set this up as an information hub about the progress of our little twin boys who were born on January 5, 2010. We along with our little boys first thank you so much for your love and support, and hope that this blog will give you an opportunity to follow their progress as they grow in the NICU at St. Jude Hospital in Fullerton.

Our little boys had a harrowing journey to get here. They were born at 25 weeks and 6 days, which is needless to say, very early. Jared William, was born at 10:49 a.m. feet first, and on the bathroom floor of the delivery room. Anthony Michael was born at 11:30 via C-section after he decided that he wanted to come out hands first.

Our story started on Monday, January 4 after a doctor's appointment with Dr. Gray. Danielle had been feeling generally, "crappy" the day before and reported what sounded like some contractions. The doctor decided to send us across the street to the hospital just to make sure everything was okay. After a couple of hours in labor and delivery the staff confirmed a few contractions, but very far apart. Her cervix was not dilated and the babies were fine.

The doctor sent us home and told us to keep track of the contractions, and so long as they weren't less than 7 minutes apart there was no need for concern. The next morning Danielle started feeling contractions again, but this time they were about five minutes apart. She called the doctor who said to wait another hour and see if they went away.

I was just getting ready to walk out the door to work when Danielle had a contraction that just about doubled her over. Deciding something wasn't right, I called the doctor and said we were coming to the hospital.

On our way to the hospital Danielle was having severe pains in her lower back every three minutes. When we arrived at the hospital Danielle was hooked up to the machines which registered no contractions at all. The doctors and nurses did not think her pains were contractions but constipation. After several attempts to alleviate that Danielle went into the bathroom still having severe lower back pain.

After a minute, I heard a scream, and Danielle was screaming that her babies were coming out. The nurses came rushing, as did the doctor, but Jared was too impatient to wait. He was born on the bathroom floor. After Danielle was moved to the bed, Anthony wasn't so cooperative and an emergency C-section was performed.

The NICU unit was quick to respond and help the teenie little babies breathe and fight for life. Jared was 2lbs. 1oz. and was 13 and 1/2 inches long. Anthony was 1lb. 15oz. and was 13 inches long.

The whole thing was totally unexpected, and frankly more traumatic than happy. But we are blessed with two gorgeous little miracle babies!

Our boys came home to us on March 26, 2010, after spending 81 days or about 12 weeks in the NICU at St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton. As you may note from our previous posts below, the journey was not without its bumps in the road.

There were highs, and there were lows. We and the boys braved two laser eye surgeries, and countless other obstacles and scares. But, we never lost confidence in the medical team in the NICU, and always kept our faith that God would lead us through this time.

Our steadfastness paid off, because now the boys are happy and healthy at home! This of course brings with it a totally new set of challenges that we are exicted and eager to experience. The task of caring for twin newborns is a daunting one, but a welcome one.

So, just because the boys are now home, don't think the blogging will stop. It may not be as consistent as before, but we will do our best to keep you all updated on their progress, and give you a window into our lives raising twin boys.

Enjoy!

Thursday, November 11, 2010

10 Months Old!

Jared and Anthony turned 10 months old on Nov. 5th and we celebrated with doses of Amoxicillin and Tylenol :)

Both boys have their first ear infection. Honestly, it came as a surprise to me; they didn't have a fever and weren't irritable. I called the doctor last week to talk to a nurse about Jared. Both boys had just gotten over a cold and Jared started coughing again. He was only coughing at night, and so much so that he would wake himself up several times a night. The nurse suggested that I bring him in to have his ears checked...and sure enough both boys had ear infections. Anthony's worse than Jared's and with no symptoms, until later that night. Anthony decided he didn't want to sleep, so Momma wasn't going to sleep either. We stayed up until 3:30AM, well he would sleep on an off, but couldn't stay asleep because he couldn't get comfortable, then slept until 5:30AM then we were up again :( Luckily, that was the worst night to report.

Jared and Anthony are both sitting up very well on their own and are rolling all over the house. Jared will get up on his hands and knees and rock back and forth...I think crawling is in his future. As for Anthony, he is content rolling everywhere he needs to go. It is so funny how their personalities are so different. Jared is the first one to do anything related to mobility while Anthony is never in a hurry (foreshadowed by how they were born!).

We are still enjoying our Kindermusik class every Monday and all of the Mom's comment on how much the boys change from week to week and how great they are doing developmentally. We have our appt with the EDAC (Early Developmental Assessment Clinic) for preemies at CHOC next week, so we will see what the professionals have to say. This being our first visit, I am not exactly sure what to expect. My understanding is that we will meet with many different people who will assess the growth and development of each baby. We will be a part of the clinic until the boys are about 3 years old at least.

The pediatrician is very happy with their growth and seems to think they aren't too far behind in other areas.

We have been to the neurosurgeon twice now. Dr. Loudon indicated that Anthony's situation is purely cosmetic but would like to take a look at a 3D scan of his skull just to make sure. Today, Anthony had his CT scan done and we went directly to Dr. Loudon's office where we received mixed news. Anthony does have a mild metopic ridge in his forehead but it should cause no developmental problems with his brain or its growth. However, he is going to refer us to a cranio-facial plastic surgeon for an opinion on fixing the shape of his forehead via surgery.

Dr. Loudon asked "Have I scared you enough?" to that, Jason and I replied that as parents of preemies we prepare ourselves for any news at an appointment like this. Dr. Loudon said that Anthony's case is so mild and he suggested that the plastic surgeon may take one look at him and not think operating is worth the risk. Of course, Jason and I hope for that, but we are realistic in thinking that surgery may be on the horizon.

For those of you who don't know what a metopic ridge is (I didn't either) it is when the forehead bone fuses too early and creates a ridge down the center of the forehead. It can cause a triangle-shaped forehead rather than a flat forehead with a prominent brow. Anthony's ridge is barely noticeable but is palpable. According to Dr. Loudon, Anthony's eyes are closer together and the divots above the eyebrows are not as far to the sides as they should be. In my opinion, you can't tell any of this until someone points it out. On the other hand, he does have a lop-sided head from positional molding (which is very common in preemies) and the surgery would also even this out. Jason and I are concerned of what this means for Anthony in the long term and Dr. Loudon says that the only concerns will be cosmetic and that the plastic surgeon would be able to answer our questions about how it will effect his growth.

This concerns Jason and I because, as we all know, no kid wants to be different when they are growing up. I was constantly picked on because I was the only redhead...how about that for shallow. So unfortunately, we will somehow need to make a decision for Anthony, but how will we know what he wants? Dr. Loudon said that sometimes kids ask the question when they get older "Why didn't you fix this when I was young?" What a spot to be in. We will only know the details once we speak to the plastic surgeon in a few weeks.

On a happy note, I am thoroughly enjoying spending my days with both of them. I love playing with them and watching them grow right before my eyes. I am so grateful that Jason supported the decision for me to stay home with them and although it has been hard some months, we both believe it is well worth the struggles.

I have been having a hard time with their napping lately, Anthony being the defiant one, but the last week or so has been much better. They are still sleeping well at night and taking two two hour naps during the day. They are still voracious eaters and haven't found anything they don't like...well cottage cheese is questionable. They have begun eating cheeses, yogurt, pasta and diced fruits. It won't be too long until they can switch to milk from formula, which will save so much money :) Hip Hip Hooray!

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers through this hard time, just have you have done for the past ten months. We are eternally grateful for your continued support.